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Athletes being your age

Idk if anyone else feels like this but I'm getting to that point in my life i realize that i definitely didn't make it in sports. I went to a school that produces a lot of talent in basketball and football and some people who i associated with and were good friends i see on TV in the NBA and NFL. I actually played 1-AA football for a couple years but wasn't quite good enough to get consistent playing time. I'm 24, a recent college grad, have a nice girlfriend but sometimes feel like i didn't accomplish anything because of this. Seeing athletes on tv that are my age and even younger make me always think what could have been and is upsetting. Anyone else ever think or feel this way?

Re: Athletes being your age

Wait until you are my age (35) and are at the age where pro sports players are retiring because they are a step slower and beginning to show gray hair.....That's depressing.

But I feel you what you are getting at, but don't beat yourself, up. What I do suggest is that if you have an interest in playing sports still, get involved in local rec sports. When I returned to graduate school, I regularly played intramural, volleyball, softball, soccer and racquetball, and I still get that great feeling of competition. Life isn't over at 24 even if you won't be doing it professionally. Just make sure that whatever you do decide to do you dedicate yourself fully and play hard on the side.

Quick add on: the only thing that upsets me about seeing young golden children succeed in sports is to see how much f'ing money they make and realizing that no matter how hard I work at my profession that kind of reward is closed to me. That pisses me off.

Re: Athletes being your age

Wait until you are my age (35) and are at the age where pro sports players are retiring because they are a step slower and beginning to show gray hair.....That's depressing.

But I feel you what you are getting at, but don't beat yourself, up. What I do suggest is that if you have an interest in playing sports still, get involved in local rec sports. When I returned to graduate school, I regularly played intramural, volleyball, softball, soccer and racquetball, and I still get that great feeling of competition. Life isn't over at 24 even if you won't be doing it professionally. Just make sure that whatever you do decide to do you dedicate yourself fully and play hard on the side.

Quick add on: the only thing that upsets me about seeing young golden children succeed in sports is to see how much f'ing money they make and realizing that no matter how hard I work at my profession that kind of reward is closed to me. That pisses me off.

Wait until you are my age (49) and no one your age is still playing. That's when you feel old.
You just have to realize that a very small percentage of people get to play sports professionally at a high level. It's no shame not to be among them.

Re: Athletes being your age

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

Wait until you are my age (49) and no one your age is still playing. That's when you feel old.
You just have to realize that a very small percentage of people get to play sports professionally at a high level. It's no shame not to be among them.

Jamie Moyer bums me out... could have been me... if I had just skipped Poltergeist or Gremlins and worked harder... step away from the Intellivision

Re: Athletes being your age

I agree with Spazzrico. (And that's a sentence I've never typed before in my life.)

I still find myself idolizing professional athletes, and with the exception of the Jamie Moyers of the world, I'm older than all of them. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Scott Rolen is younger than I am.

But that doesn't stop me from playing. Not only is it fun and recreational, but as you age, your body will depend more and more on exercise to maintain your metabolic rate. Fitness centers are zoos and running trails get boring after awhile, so playing pickup basketball, tennis, and running in local 5K races are great ways to stay active.

Plus, you can still find very competitive sports well into your 30s and 40s, and beyond. I played in a rec hardball league in Ann Arbor when I first moved to Michigan in 2002, and then again in Vegas when I lived there in '05-'06. That desert league was crazy competitive. In fact, in June or July of '05 I actually played against a lefty pitcher named Vic Darensbourg. After the game, our team's manager informed me that Vic used to pitch in the majors but hadn't been picked up by anyone in 2005.

Then, later that summer, he landed with Detroit and made about 20 appearances with the Tigers the rest of the season. So here I was, 34 at the time and out of organized baseball for about 15 years, batting (left handed) against a left-handed major league pitcher.

Vic only pitched a few innings against us and shut us down. However, I take great pride in the fact that I reached out and blooped a low and outside curve ball over the shortstop's head on a 1-2 pitch for a single. (with a wooden bat, mind you.) It was my only plate appearance against him so my lifetime average against Major League pitching is 1.000.

So yes, go find a rec league. You never know who you may face.

A flute with no holes is not a flute. A doughnut with no holes is a danish. -- Zen Philosopher Basho

Re: Athletes being your age

Originally Posted by Maker_84

Idk if anyone else feels like this but I'm getting to that point in my life i realize that i definitely didn't make it in sports. I went to a school that produces a lot of talent in basketball and football and some people who i associated with and were good friends i see on TV in the NBA and NFL. I actually played 1-AA football for a couple years but wasn't quite good enough to get consistent playing time. I'm 24, a recent college grad, have a nice girlfriend but sometimes feel like i didn't accomplish anything because of this. Seeing athletes on tv that are my age and even younger make me always think what could have been and is upsetting. Anyone else ever think or feel this way?

Of course, when you're 42, you'll probably be at the height of your career, while most players your age will have retired from sports and are trying to figure out what to do after sports. I think it ticks me off more when I hear of players my age who are retired and broke because they burned through all that money they made.

Burn down the disco. Hang the blessed DJ. Because the music that he constantly plays, it says nothing to me about my life.

Re: Athletes being your age

I saw a Jimmy Osting (eventual cup of coffee in the majors) curveball from the batters box in a JV baseball game my sophomore year of high school. I knew right then that school was going to be very important to me!

Re: Athletes being your age

Originally Posted by Maker_84

Idk if anyone else feels like this but I'm getting to that point in my life i realize that i definitely didn't make it in sports. I went to a school that produces a lot of talent in basketball and football and some people who i associated with and were good friends i see on TV in the NBA and NFL. I actually played 1-AA football for a couple years but wasn't quite good enough to get consistent playing time. I'm 24, a recent college grad, have a nice girlfriend but sometimes feel like i didn't accomplish anything because of this. Seeing athletes on tv that are my age and even younger make me always think what could have been and is upsetting. Anyone else ever think or feel this way?

Didn't accomplish anything? You're 24, the world is in front of you; there is plenty of time to accomplish lots of things. So you're never going to be a professional athlete? Welcome to the 99% of people who never make a dime playing sports. Again, you're 24, a college graduate with a nice girlfriend, perhaps even a future wife. 20 years from now, Chad Johnson is going to be remembered mostly for his silly acts and getting cut on cable TV. Sure he's had a nice football career, just shy of a borderline hall of famer, however if reports are true he's pretty much broke, had multiple children w/ multiple women and isn't much of a father to any of them. He's hardly alone in that regard.

meanwhile, stock away $75 a week for the rest of your life and retire a millionare. Find a good wife, one that shares your beliefs (or at least understands them) and morals, someone that both challenges and nutures you and you won't have to chase love the way many professional athletes have lossing half their wealth in divorce settlements or to child support payments. Enjoy that your knees won't be wrecked at 40 and getting out of bed won't be a struggle. Enjoy your kids if you have them, teach them the things you've learned thru life, try to mold them into good citizens and better people.

Sure being a professional athlete would be great, especially if your lucky enough to have the talents of a Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Scott Rolen, etc.. but not reaching that level shouldn't upset you. Appreciate the things you have, the things you can accomplish, don't envy the things others have accomplished. If you live your life the right way, there's plenty of profesional athletes that will glady trade their lives for your life 20 years from now.

Re: Athletes being your age

Originally Posted by medford

meanwhile, stock away $75 a week for the rest of your life and retire a millionare. Find a good wife, one that shares your beliefs (or at least understands them) and morals, someone that both challenges and nutures you and you won't have to chase love the way many professional athletes have lossing half their wealth in divorce settlements or to child support payments. Enjoy that your knees won't be wrecked at 40 and getting out of bed won't be a struggle. Enjoy your kids if you have them, teach them the things you've learned thru life, try to mold them into good citizens and better people.

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